More than half the babies in the U.S. born outside of marriage are born to women who nonetheless live with the child’s father, according to two new studies. This supports similar findings from the Pew Research Center, as I discussed a few weeks ago, that the number of those who do not marry, with or without children, is on the rise. Wouldn’t it be funny if by the time same-sex couples gain the right to marry, we’ll find ourselves all alone there without the straight people? OK, that’s overstating it. But in the world of lies, damn lies, and statistics, that’s where the lines are trending.
Non-married opposite-sex couples, though, can still use the “I’m her husband/his wife” ploy to see the person in a hospital, when even married-in-Massachusetts same-sex couples can’t, outside the boundaries of the Bay State. A biological parent, furthermore, will automatically have parental rights, with or without marriage or civil union. Maybe the opposite-sex parents who choose not to marry therefore feel less of a need for marital protections than do the same-sex parents who want them, but can’t get them. Ironic, no?
On a final note, the Boston Globe, which reported the new studies, gets points for a headline (“Marry, marry? Quite contrary”) involving a pun on that nursery rhyme and a discussion of non-traditional families, but no reference to a certain daughter of the Vice President. (Try Googling “mary cheney contrary” and you’ll see why this is refreshing.)
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